William John Cox
Encyclopedia
William John Cox (born 1941) is an American public interest lawyer, retired prosecutor, author and political activist.
was born on a cotton farm near Lubbock, Texas
to Samuel Hubert and Minnie Irene (Oswalt) Cox. Orphaned at age 10, he was raised by siblings until he attended New Mexico Military Institute
, from which he graduated in 1958.
After a four-year enlistment, Cox was honorably discharged as an United States Navy Hospital Corpsman
2nd Class in 1962.
service in the early Sixties, Cox served as president of the San Diego County Chapter of the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), which was instrumental in establishing the first Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Commission and drafting the national Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.
Graduating with top honors from the San Diego Police Department
and Los Angeles Police Department
Academies, Cox received an associate degree in Police Administration from Rio Hondo College
in 1969.
Promoted to Investigator and Sergeant, Cox authored the LAPD Policy Manual and the introductory chapters of the Police Task Force report of President Nixon’s National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, which defined the role of the police in America.
In 1973 and 1974, Cox was the special assistant of the director of the Office of National Priority Programs in the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
, which implemented national criminal justice standards and goals.
.
Appointed a Deputy Los Angeles County District Attorney
in 1974, Cox prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases in the Municipal and Superior Courts for the next three years.
In 1977, Cox opened a public interest law practice in Long Beach, California
in the historic Skinny House (Long Beach)
. He primarily represented indigent juveniles accused of serious crimes and received court appointments in death penalty and major felony matters.
, a Jewish survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp
. He investigated and sued a group of radical organizations, including the Liberty Lobby
and Institute for Historical Review
, that engaged in Holocaust denial
and which had offered a reward for proof of Nazi gas chambers.
The primary legal issue in the case was resolved in October 1981, when the presiding judge took judicial notice
of the fact that Jews were gassed to death at Auschwitz in the summer of 1944.
The “Holocaust Case” was the subject of the TNT motion picture, Never Forget
, in April 1991 starring Leonard Nimoy
and Dabney Coleman
.
.
Cox recommenced a restricted practice of law in Long Beach, California and primarily provided investigative forensic services to other law firms for the next ten years. One of the leading cases he worked on was the successful litigation involving the heirs of The Three Stooges in support of attorney Bela G. Lugosi
.
to print almost 1,800 photographs of the Dead Sea Scrolls
that had been suppressed for more than 40 years. A Facsimile Edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls was published in November 1991.
On behalf of Professors Robert Eisenman
and James M. Robinson
, who had written an introduction and prepared an index for the book, Cox testified at a trial held in Jerusalem in January and February 1993, during which he refused to identify his client.
, where he led a team of attorneys and investigators that targeted the prosecution of attorneys accused of serious crimes and misconduct and criminal gangs engaged in the unlawful practice of law.
lawsuit in 1979 on behalf of every American citizen. As a remedy, Cox petitioned the Supreme Court to order the President and Congress to conduct a National Policy Referendum
to restore political power to the voters.
In 2004, Cox’s book, You’re Not Stupid! Get the Truth: A Brief on the Bush Presidency, was published by the Progressive Press.
Since retiring in 2007, Cox has dedicated himself to the promotion of a peaceful political evolution. The political movement focuses on: holding a National Policy Referendum every four years coincident with the presidential election; using a national paper ballot to allow voters to personally answer the 12 most critical policy questions; and encouraging voters to write in the name of the candidate they most trust to effectuate their policy.
Background
The eighth and last child of an American pioneer family, William John CoxCox
- People :*Cox , for information on the origins of the family name and a list of people with the name- Places :* Cox, Alicante, Spain* Cox, Florida, United States* Cox, Haute-Garonne, France* Cox Island, Nunavut, Canada...
was born on a cotton farm near Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
to Samuel Hubert and Minnie Irene (Oswalt) Cox. Orphaned at age 10, he was raised by siblings until he attended New Mexico Military Institute
New Mexico Military Institute
New Mexico Military Institute is a state-supported educational institution. NMMI is located in Roswell, New Mexico, United States. It is sometimes referred to as the West Point of the West and it is the only state-supported military college located in the western United States. NMMI includes a...
, from which he graduated in 1958.
After a four-year enlistment, Cox was honorably discharged as an United States Navy Hospital Corpsman
United States Navy Hospital Corpsman
A Hospital Corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist for the United States Navy who serves with Navy and United States Marine Corps units. The Hospital Corpsman works in a wide variety of capacities and locations, including shore establishments such as naval hospitals and clinics, aboard ships,...
2nd Class in 1962.
Law Enforcement
Joining the “New Breed” movement to professionalize the American policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
service in the early Sixties, Cox served as president of the San Diego County Chapter of the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), which was instrumental in establishing the first Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Commission and drafting the national Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.
Graduating with top honors from the San Diego Police Department
San Diego Police Department
The San Diego Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of San Diego, California. Established on May 9, 1889, the first chief of police was Joseph Coyne. The current police chief is William Lansdowne.-History:...
and Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
Academies, Cox received an associate degree in Police Administration from Rio Hondo College
Rio Hondo College
Rio Hondo College is a community college located in the city of Whittier, California, United States, named after the Rio Hondo. It was founded in 1960 and mainly serves the cities of Whittier, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, El Monte, and South El Monte...
in 1969.
Promoted to Investigator and Sergeant, Cox authored the LAPD Policy Manual and the introductory chapters of the Police Task Force report of President Nixon’s National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, which defined the role of the police in America.
In 1973 and 1974, Cox was the special assistant of the director of the Office of National Priority Programs in the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration was a U.S. federal agency within the U.S. Dept. of Justice. It administered federal funding to state and local law enforcement agencies, and funded educational programs, research, state planning agencies, and local crime initiatives.The LEAA was...
, which implemented national criminal justice standards and goals.
Law Practice
Cox was awarded a Juris Doctor degree cum laude by Southwestern Law School in 1973 and was administered his attorney’s oath by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Tom C. ClarkTom C. Clark
Thomas Campbell Clark was United States Attorney General from 1945 to 1949 and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States .- Early life and career :...
.
Appointed a Deputy Los Angeles County District Attorney
Los Angeles County District Attorney
The District Attorney of Los Angeles County prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County, California....
in 1974, Cox prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases in the Municipal and Superior Courts for the next three years.
In 1977, Cox opened a public interest law practice in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
in the historic Skinny House (Long Beach)
Skinny House (Long Beach)
The aptly nicknamed Skinny House at 708 Gladys Avenue in the Rose Park neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States is a narrow three-story house that has been cited by both the Guinness Book of World Records and Ripley's Believe It or Not as the nation's skinniest house.The...
. He primarily represented indigent juveniles accused of serious crimes and received court appointments in death penalty and major felony matters.
Holocaust Denial Case
Among the cases Cox handled was a pro bono publico matter in which he represented Mel MermelsteinMel Mermelstein
Mel Mermelstein is a Hungarian-born Jew, sole-survivor of his family's extermination at Auschwitz concentration camp who defeated the Institute for Historical Review in an American court and had the occurrence of gassings in Auschwitz during the Holocaust declared a legally incontestable...
, a Jewish survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. He investigated and sued a group of radical organizations, including the Liberty Lobby
Liberty Lobby
Liberty Lobby was an American political advocacy organization founded in 1958 that went bankrupt in 2001. It was founded by Willis Carto. In their own words,-Antisemitic world-view:...
and Institute for Historical Review
Institute for Historical Review
The Institute for Historical Review , founded in 1978, is an American organization that describes itself as a "public-interest educational, research and publishing center dedicated to promoting greater public awareness of history." Critics have accused it of being an antisemitic "pseudo-scholarly...
, that engaged in Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
and which had offered a reward for proof of Nazi gas chambers.
The primary legal issue in the case was resolved in October 1981, when the presiding judge took judicial notice
Judicial notice
Judicial notice is a rule in the law of evidence that allows a fact to be introduced into evidence if the truth of that fact is so notorious or well known that it cannot be refuted. This is done upon the request of the party seeking to have the fact at issue determined by the court...
of the fact that Jews were gassed to death at Auschwitz in the summer of 1944.
The “Holocaust Case” was the subject of the TNT motion picture, Never Forget
Never Forget
"Never Forget" is a 1995 song recorded by Take That, from the album Nobody Else. It was released on 24 July 1995, and achieved success in many countries, including the UK, Spain and Ireland where it topped the singles chart.-Song information:...
, in April 1991 starring Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
and Dabney Coleman
Dabney Coleman
Dabney Wharton Coleman is an American actor, best known for his roles in 9 to 5, WarGames, You've Got Mail, Sworn to Silence, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the voice of Principal Peter Prickly in Recess and Recess: School's Out.-Early life:Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Mary...
.
Forensic Practice
Between 1984 and 1988, Cox served as general counsel and operations officer of a private security consulting and investigation firm, whose clients included a number of Fortune 500 companies and nuclear weapons sites operated by the United States Department of EnergyUnited States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
.
Cox recommenced a restricted practice of law in Long Beach, California and primarily provided investigative forensic services to other law firms for the next ten years. One of the leading cases he worked on was the successful litigation involving the heirs of The Three Stooges in support of attorney Bela G. Lugosi
Bela G. Lugosi
Bela George Lugosi also known as Bela Lugosi, Jr. is the son of Béla Lugosi. A California attorney, his legal actions in Lugosi v. Universal Pictures, led to the creation of the California Celebrities Rights Act. He was an executive at Comedy III Productions, which owned the licensing rights to...
.
Publication of the Suppressed Dead Sea Scrolls
In 1991, Cox secretly represented an “undisclosed client,” pro bono, and contracted with the Biblical Archaeology SocietyBiblical Archaeology Society
The Biblical Archaeology Society is a non-denominational organization that supports and promotes biblical archaeology. It publishes Biblical Archaeology Review. Its past publications included Bible Review and Archaeology Odyssey . The Biblical Archaeology Society also publishes books about...
to print almost 1,800 photographs of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
that had been suppressed for more than 40 years. A Facsimile Edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls was published in November 1991.
On behalf of Professors Robert Eisenman
Robert Eisenman
Robert Eisenman is an American Biblical scholar, theoretical writer, historian, archaeologist, and "road" poet. He is currently Professor of Middle East Religions, Archaeology, and Islamic Law and director of the Institute for the Study of...
and James M. Robinson
James M. Robinson
James McConkey Robinson is Professor Emeritus of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California. He is a member of the Jesus Seminar and arguably the most prominent Q and Nag Hammadi library scholar of the 20th century. He is also a major contributor to The International Q...
, who had written an introduction and prepared an index for the book, Cox testified at a trial held in Jerusalem in January and February 1993, during which he refused to identify his client.
State Bar Prosecutor
Between 1999 and 2007, Cox served as a supervising trial counsel for the State Bar of CaliforniaState Bar of California
The State Bar of California is California's official bar association. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, and prescribing appropriate discipline...
, where he led a team of attorneys and investigators that targeted the prosecution of attorneys accused of serious crimes and misconduct and criminal gangs engaged in the unlawful practice of law.
Political Activism
Alleging that control of the United States government had been seized by corporations and special interest groups, Cox filed a class actionClass action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
lawsuit in 1979 on behalf of every American citizen. As a remedy, Cox petitioned the Supreme Court to order the President and Congress to conduct a National Policy Referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
to restore political power to the voters.
In 2004, Cox’s book, You’re Not Stupid! Get the Truth: A Brief on the Bush Presidency, was published by the Progressive Press.
Since retiring in 2007, Cox has dedicated himself to the promotion of a peaceful political evolution. The political movement focuses on: holding a National Policy Referendum every four years coincident with the presidential election; using a national paper ballot to allow voters to personally answer the 12 most critical policy questions; and encouraging voters to write in the name of the candidate they most trust to effectuate their policy.
Books
- (1978), Hello: We Speak the Truth, (As Thomas Donn) CLS Publishing Company
- (2004), You’re Not Stupid! Get the Truth: A Brief on the Bush Presidency, Progressive Press
External links
- Personal Website: http://www.williamjohncox.com
- Political Website: http://www.votersevolt.com